Burt Lancaster -The Killers 1946
Burt Lancaster (1913 -1994) appeared in over 80 feature films. His first was The Killers (1946) and it made him a star. Continue reading
Classic Hollywood #29 – Burt Lancaster
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How A 1919 New York Law Enacted To Help Women, Ended Up Costing Them Their Jobs
An Uproar Ensues When Women Take Men’s Jobs In Wartime New York
1917 – Marie Bocinec Becomes The First Woman Streetcar Conductor In New York City. As New Doors To Working Women Were Opening, Everything Was About To Go All Wrong.
Recently while watching the movie Music For Millions (1944) on TCM I was reminded how great social shifts can subtly occur. In the movie filmed and set during World War II, June Allyson portrays a bass player in a New York symphony orchestra which has been filled with many women replacements. In the movie as in real life, as men were drafted into the armed services, the symphony orchestra had little alternative but to have skilled women become members in a profession that had been male dominated with few women in the ranks.
After World War II entree for women into orchestras became more accepted as women had proved every bit as adept as their male musical counterparts.
So when I came across this old news photograph of Marie Bocinec, the first woman streetcar conductor in New York City, it became apparent that it was also a war that nudged progress forward for women’s rights over some objections. But as it turned out that progress would be short-lived.
The United States entry into World War I in 1917 meant women would soon be filling jobs once held exclusively by men. Remember that women were not even allowed to vote in the United States until the 19th amendment was ratified more than two years later August 18, 1920.
The caption to this news photograph reads:
Photo of Miss Marie Bocinec
Clad in black taffeta caps trimmed with two bright golden braids more than forty pretty young girls have introduced an innovation in the daily life of New York and will soon be collecting nickels for railway companies throughout the country. Women street car conductors came to stay. They stood the test, and in many instances proved even superior to men in the discharge of their duties. No girl conductor is employed unless she is at least twenty-one years old and in good health. Miss Marie Bocinec, one of the prettiest girls among the women conductors, was the first to graduate and begin work as a conductor. Photo – NYH Service December 11, 1917
Marie Bocinec’s first practice run on December 7, 1917 took her from 146th Street and Lenox Avenue to the Battery without incident. Three days later on December 10, Marie was assigned to the Broadway line. Her wages? A six day work week for a ten hour workday with a two hour unpaid luncheon paid twenty seven cents an hour. On the bright side, if it can be called that, it was the same pay rate that the male conductors were getting. Continue reading
Times Square January 11, 1954 – Lots of Snow And Cold Weather
January 11-12, 1954 – Biggest Snowstorm In Five Years Hits New York
60 years ago, on Monday January 11, 1954 New York City got walloped with a 10 inch snowstorm with temperatures dipping down to 15 degrees. The storm continued on through Tuesday making travel difficult and it gave sanitation department workers extra long shifts for snow removal. It was the heaviest snowfall in New York City since December 19-20, 1948, when more than 19 inches fell.
The scene shown here is Times Square looking north with the Hotel Astor on the left. Directly across the street is the famous Bond Clothiers advertising sign.
The snow did not result in shutting down New York City schools. Some elementary schools did allow girls to be dismissed 15 minutes early to spare them from being pelted with snowballs by the boys. Just outside of the city it was a different story as Rockland, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties generally did close public and parochial schools for the day.
The snow ended at 7:05 a.m. on January 12. Highways were mostly kept clear, but most drivers played it safe and left their cars at home. The real problem was that over the next two days the temperature in New York kept dropping. It went down to a low of 11 degrees, freezing the snow into hard packed ice, making it difficult for pedestrians to navigate the streets.
Western Rockland and northern Westchester counties, saw the temperature dip to as low as two below zero. In northern Maine the temperature was minus 25.
The cold wave stuck around for a whole week. The temperature hit a two year low in New York City on the morning of January 18. The mercury registered just 8.8 degrees at 1:30 a.m.. The weather finally changed on January 19 when the temperature rose to 40 degrees.
Young Man Swims In Lake Michigan On January 4, 1924
90 Years Ago Today: Victor Barothy Goes Swimming In Lake Michigan January 4, 1924
I’ve seen the polar bear clubs with swimmers who plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year’s Day every year.
But this looks insane. Those large icicles and mounds of snow that loom in the background. Just looking at this photograph gives me the chills.
Unfortunately I cannot find an accompanying story that ran with this news photograph. The caption simply says that “Victor Barothy prepares to swim in Lake Michigan on a dare.” January 4, 1924.
Checking the social security death index, Victor Barothy was born January 4, 1907, so the dare he accepted would have been in celebration of his 17th birthday, even though in the photograph he looks a bit older than 17. With his father and his brother he ran the Barothy Lodge in Walhalla, MI. Victor passed away in Walhalla at the age of 65 in May, 1972.
How long Victor Barothy’s swim lasted in the icy waters of Lake Michigan is unknown.
Classic Hollywood #28 – Norma Talmadge
Norma Talmadge
Norma Talmadge, was one of the biggest stars of the silent film era. She was born on May 26, 1894 in Jersey City, NJ, and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Norma had two sisters, Constance Talmadge, also a major star, who was in 83 films and Natalie Talmadge who appeared in nine films.
Norma appeared in over 200 silent pictures, most of which are now considered lost films. In 1916, Norma married film producer Joseph Schenck who became head of United Artists and would go on to become the chairman of 20th Century Fox.
As with many of the silent stars, Norma’s career ended with the advent of sound. By 1928 her career had already stalled to one film per year. There was talk in 1928 of reissuing her favorite film Smilin’ Through (1922), but Norma was staunch in her refusal to re-release it. Norma said, “I thought it was a lovely picture and the fans liked it. Why reissue it? I would rather people only had the peasant memory of it.” This attitude was similar to the screen’s biggest star Mary Pickford, who had said she would never allow any of her films to be released again.
Norma made two sound films, New York Nights (1929) and Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930). The Du Barry film was widely panned by critics and public alike. Norma then waited for the right script for her next movie. She said she was “favoring playing a comic role.” She never appeared in another film.
Instead, Norma Talmadge travelled the world and invested wisely in real estate, becoming very wealthy.
Legend has it that Norma Talmadge has the distinction of being the first to leave her handprints, footprints and signature at the would famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The apocryphal story Continue reading
The Lincoln Tunnel Opens And “Mr. First” Is There – December 22, 1937
Omero C. Catan, Known As “Mr. First” Waits To Be First Through The New Lincoln Tunnel
When he was 13-years-old in 1928, Omero C. Catan heard a story from a family friend who was one of the first people to cross the Brooklyn Bridge when it opened in 1883. It was then that Omero decided that being first would be something fun to do as a hobby.
Soon after Catan went down to Lakehurst, NJ from his home in Greenwich, CT to become the first American to tour the famous airship, Graf Zeppelin.
The Miami New Times 1995 profile of Omero and his brother Michael reported, “after that initial success, there was no stopping him.”
Catan paid the first toll on the George Washington Bridge linking New York and New Jersey (October 25, 1931). He was the first to buy a token on the Eighth Avenue subway (September 10, 1932). He was the first paying customer to skate on the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink (December 25, 1936). After he proposed marriage to stenographer Jeanne Tobolka, he was to receive the first wedding license of 1939. He was the first to put a coin in a New York City parking meter (Sept. 19, 1951). He was the first to drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge (December 15, 1955).
In all Catan was “first” 537 times, acquiring the sobriquet “Mr. First”.
At 4 a.m. on December 22, 1937 the lights turned green and Omero Catan and George Horn started driving through the new Lincoln Tunnel from opposite sides.
According to the New York Times, Catan whose car had been parked Continue reading
Old New York In Postcards #8 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 2
Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911 – Part 2
Coney Island- Dreamland midway on a crowded day
Continuing from part one of our postcard journey through Dreamland Amusement Park at Coney Island, we examine the other features of the park.
At the turn of the century, dancing was possibly the most popular amusement at Coney Island, even more so than bathing at the beach. The Dreamland ballroom reflected this popularity by being the largest ballroom ever built in the United States. Continue reading
Old New York In Postcards #7 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 1
Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911
Dreamland Map from Jeffrey Stanton’s site
http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/
Dreamland was built on a 15-acre parcel at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street and opened on May 14, 1904. It cost over $3.5 million to build. The park could accommodate over 250,000 people. Ex-State Senator William H. Reynolds was the man behind Dreamland. The original name of the park was to be the Hippodrome, as Reynolds originally wanted chariot races around a lagoon. On the architect’s plans the name was changed to Wonderland, but the name that stuck was Dreamland. With its bright lights and a dizzying array of exhibits and amusements Dreamland was an apropos name.
On the right is a map of how Dreamland was laid out.
The week before Dreamland opened, this ad in the May 8, 1904 New York Evening Sun heralded the pleasures that awaited visitors.
The defining feature of Dreamland was the White Tower built by architects Kirby, Petit and Green and modeled after the Giralda Tower in Seville. It was 370 feet high and had over 100,000 electric lights. Continue reading
Old New York In Photos #34 – World’s Fair 1939 Before Its Opening
An Aerial View Of The 1939 World’s Fair Before It Opened – January 25, 1939
The Trylon (shown with scaffolding) and Perisphere feature prominently from this fantastic aerial view over Flushing Meadows in Queens, three months before the 1939 New York World’s Fair opened on April 30, 1939.
The World’s Fair was expected to cost $40 million to build and generate revenue of over $1 billion. It ended up costing over $150 million to build and ended in bankruptcy 18 months after it opened.
Though the Fair lost money, for anyone who attended, it was a marvelous and memorable experience. The World’s Fair pavilions and buildings held exhibits which demonstrated the possibilities of a utopian society where the future was filled with promise, hope and amazing technological innovations as the world emerged from the Great Depression.
Four months after the World’s Fair opened, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began.
The caption for this Acme news photograph reads:
The Theme Center
This is how the Theme Center looked recently from a visiting American Airliner. Dominating the scene, as they will the Fair, are the Perisphere and Trylon. Removed scaffolding reveals they are well past the half-way mark. Although the various buildings shown seem widely divergent in architectural form, all conform with the latest theories of functional design. (Credit Line Acme Photographs – January, 25, 1939)
Classic Hollywood #27 – Elsie Ferguson
Elsie Ferguson Broadway And Silent Film Star
Saying Elsie Ferguson (1883-1961) was “just” a star of the stage and screen is like saying Mickey Mantle was “just” a switch-hitting outfielder.
Elsie was one of the most beautiful and biggest stars on Broadway. “She is the shadow of beauty rather than beauty itself. She does not glow, she haunts,” a journalist said in 1914.
Elsie started her acting career in 1902 at the age of 16, and within just seven years, she made her way from the chorus to leading lady, starring in Channing Pollock’s 1909 comedy Such A Little Queen. In December 1916, an unnamed leading Broadway producer said, “There can be no doubt as to Elsie Ferguson’s supremacy on the stage.” He added that the actress had beauty, ability and versatility. Continue reading